CHARTER SCHOOL CHAMPS: The Princeton Charter School team won the Middle School New Jersey Regional Science Bowl competition on February 21 at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab (PPPL) and will travel to Washington, D.C., at the end of April to compete in the National Science Bowl tournament sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. (Photo by Elle Starkman/PPPL Office of Communications)

By Donald Gilpin

The Princeton Charter School (PCS) team of five seventh- and eighth-graders won the middle school New Jersey Regional Science Bowl championship for the third straight year at Princeton Plasma Physics Lab (PPPL) on February 21.

PCS eighth-graders Jack Fan and Brandon Feder and seventh-graders Justin Feder, Nitza Kahlon, and Vihaan Jim — along with their coaches PCS science teachers Laura Celik and Suzanne Ritter — will travel, all expenses paid, to Washington, D.C., at the end of April to compete against 49 other regional teams in the National Science Bowl Tournament, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

PCS defeated local hometown rival John Witherspoon Middle School (JWMS) 140-36 in the finals. JWMS also won second place in 2018 and in 2017 defeated PCS in the finals. PCS was undefeated in this year’s regional competition with what Celik described as “commanding victories” over Watchung, Highland Park, and Bridgewater before the finals against JWMS.

“I am so proud of our team this year,” said Celik. “We are a small school and are very proud of our success in the event.”

About 35 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, more than 20 percent of PCS middle schoolers, are members of the Science Bowl club. They practice questions and study vocabulary and equations each week throughout the fall. After two months the group is narrowed down to the top 12-15 players, based on their performance. Practices continue into the winter and eventually an “A Team” of five is chosen to compete in the state regionals.

“This year’s team is incredibly hardworking,” said Celik. “They love science and are very competitive, so Science Bowl is the perfect activity for them. They study extensively on their own. The team has grown very close and is very excited for the trip to nationals.”

PCS competitor Justin Feder observed, “I think the secret is we’re such a small school so we all feel comfortable as a team.” His brother Brandon was less comfortable. “I felt so nervous,” he said. “I was more nervous than during my bar mitzvah!”

In the high school finals, Ridge High School of Basking Ridge defeated High Technology High School of Lincroft in double overtime, winning the right to compete in the DOE National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., managed and sponsored by the DOE’s Office of Science.

“The students get better and better every single year,” said Science Bowl host Andrew Zwicker, head of PPPL’s Office of Communications and Public Outreach. “It’s remarkable to see students getting so competitive around science. You usually see that only in sports. I feel very optimistic seeing young people so enthusiastic about math, science, and engineering. It’s exciting to see.”

Deedee Ortiz, program manager of PPPL’s Office of Science Education and organizer of the two-day event, was also impressed. “It’s always wonderful to see the teams’ excitement at the competition, and awe-inspiring how well they do, considering the difficulty of the questions,” she wrote. ”I am proud of every single student that walked through those doors, whether they advanced to nationals or not. Every single one of those students, and their coaches, deserves all the kudos for all of their hard work.”

The competition features a fast-paced question-and-answer format with students solving technical problems and answering questions on a range of science disciplines including biology, chemistry, Earth and space science, physics, and math. Some 40 volunteers from the PPPL acted as moderators, timekeepers, and judges in the regional contests.

This was the 27th year PPPL has hosted the New Jersey Regional Science Bowl, with teams coming from all over New Jersey, as well as New York and Pennsylvania, to compete. More than 14,700 students participate in the National Science Bowl each year.